Vin Diesel
| birth_place = Alameda County, California, U.S. | occupation = Actor producer director screenwriter | years_active = 1990–present | nationality = American | notable_works = Filmography | net_worth = | partner = Paloma Jimenez (2007–present) | children = 3 | website = | signature = File:Vin Diesal's signature.png }}Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), better known by his stage name Vin Diesel, is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He rose to international fame with his role as Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious franchise. Diesel began his career in 1990, but initially struggled to gain roles until he created and starred in the short film Multi-Facial (1995), which attracted the attention of director Steven Spielberg, who was developing his film Saving Private Ryan. Spielberg re-wrote elements of the film to allow Diesel to appear in it, which helped kickstart his career. He subsequently voiced the titular character in The Iron Giant (1999), while gaining a reputation as an action star after starring in The Fast and the Furious, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XXX_(franchise) XXX] series, and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Riddick_(franchise) The Chronicles of Riddick]. Later in his career, Diesel also became known for lending his voice to the character of Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), and voicing a cameo of the same character in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). He also founded the production company One Race Films. Away from action films, Diesel has enjoyed commercial success in a number of other genres, such as in the comedy film The Pacifier (2005), while his performance in Find Me Guilty (2006) was praised. Diesel will portray the comic book character Bloodshot in its 2020 film adaptation, and is slated to appear in the Avatar sequels. Career 1990–2000: Struggles and breakthrough Diesel's first film role was a brief uncredited appearance in the drama film Awakenings (1990). In 1994, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short drama film Multi-Facial, a semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling multiracial actor stuck in the audition process. The film was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. In 1997, Diesel made his first feature-length film, Strays, an urban drama in which he played a gang leader whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed, and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series. Director Steven Spielberg took notice of Diesel after seeing him in Multi-Facial and cast him in a small role as a soldier in his 1998 Oscar-winning war film Saving Private Ryan. In 1999, he provided the voice of the title character in the animated film The Iron Giant. 2000–10: Rise to prominence as an action star In 2000, Diesel had a supporting role in the drama thriller Boiler Room, where he appeared alongside Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck. He got his breakthrough leading role as the anti-hero Riddick in the science-fiction film Pitch Black later that year. Diesel attained action hero stardom with two box office hits: the street racing action film The Fast and the Furious (2001), and the action thriller XXX (2002). He turned down the chance to reprise his roles in the sequels 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and XXX: State of the Union (2005). Instead he chose to reprise his role as Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick, which was a box office failure considering the large budget. He also voiced the character in two spin-off video games and the anime film The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. In a change from his previous action hero roles, in 2005, he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier, which was a box office success. In 2006, he chose a dramatic role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. Although he received critical acclaim for his performance, the film did poorly at the box office grossing only $2 million against a budget of $13 million. Later that year, Diesel made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and the Furious. In 2007, Diesel was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled back and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008, he starred in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D. which was a critical and box office failure. Diesel returned to The Fast and the Furious series, alongside most of the principal cast from the original 2001 film, in Fast & Furious, which was released in April 2009. 2010–20: Sustained success, work in other genres Diesel reprised his role as Dominic Toretto in installments six through nine of The Fast and the Furious franchise, Fast Six (2011), Fast & Furious 7 (2013), Furious 8 (2015), and The Fate of the Furious (2017). He reprised his role as Riddick in the third film of The Chronicles of Riddick series, simply titled Riddick (2013). In August 2013, Diesel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He voiced Groot in the 2014 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy. He starred in the supernatural action film The Last Witch Hunter (2015). In 2016, Diesel appeared as a supporting character in Ang Lee's war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. In 2017, Diesel also reprised his roles as Xander Cage in XXX: Return of Xander Cage, and Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Over the course of several years, Diesel has discussed playing two separate roles within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In November 2016 director of Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn, confirmed that Diesel had been in talks to play Blackagar Boltagon / Black Bolt for the planned Inhumans film, but it was turned into a television series instead without Diesel involved. Diesel reprised his role of Groot once again in the crossover films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) which combined the superhero teams of Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers. He has said, "I think there's gonna be a moment that we're all waiting for, and whether you know it or not, you are waiting to see Groot and Hulk get down." 2020s: Diesel is set to portray the Valiant Comics character Bloodshot in the film of the same name which is set for release in 2020. He is also joining the cast of James Cameron's Avatar 2. Filmography Awards and nominations References External Links Category:1967 births Category:1960s births Category:American actors Category:July births Category:Vin Diesel